As questions arise as to whether New York is properly implementing President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, as regards giving children in failing schools access to alternatives, it is becoming clear that the federal administration is taking seriously the task of carrying out the radical reforms encapsulated in the law. Both in a letter sent out Tuesday to chief state school officers and in a 180 page condensed guide to the act put out in September, the Department of Education makes it clear that results are expected, and that the status quo will not be acceptable to under the Bush regime. As about 330,000 New York City public school students languish in schools classified as “failing,” New York parents will be paying attention to the federal government’s enforcement efforts and to what their rights are under the No Child Left Behind Act.

A letter dated October 22 from Secretary Paige, addressed to chief state school officers, states that, “This year our nation entered a new era in education: we declared that we will build an education system in which every child learns.” Mr. Paige’s letter acknowledges that there are ways that states may try to game the system. “Unfortunately, some states have lowered the bar of expectations to hide the low performance of their schools. And a few others are discussing how they can ratchet down their standards in order to remove schools from the lists of low performers. Sadly, a small number of persons have suggested reducing standards for defining ‘proficiency’ in order to artificially present the facts.” Mr. Paige warns that, “Those who play semantic games or try to tinker with state numbers to lock out parents and the public, stand in the way of progress and reform. They are enemies of equal justice and equal opportunity. They are apologists for failure. And they will not succeed.”

This letter follows up on the desktop reference manual to the No Child Left Behind Act, prepared by the Office of the Under Secretary of Education, in September. This manual lists many of the new rights parents have under the law, rights which parents must be aware of if they are to do their part in making sure that New York City and State do not shirk their responsibilities. The manual’s introduction lays things out clearly: “Parents of children who are in low-performing schools are given a new range of options under the NCLB Act. For one, parents with children in schools that fail to meet state standards for at least two consecutive years may transfer their children to a better-performing public school, including a public charter school, within their district. If they do so, the district must provide transportation, using Title I funds if necessary. Students from low-income families in schools that fail to meet state standards for at least three years are eligible to receive supplemental educational services — including tutor ing, after-school services, and summer school. In addition, the NCLB Act provides increased support to parents, educators, and communities to create new charter schools. The act also provides students the choice to attend a safe school within their district if they attend persistently dangerous schools or are the victim of a violent crime while in their school.”

Currently, New York City is shrinking from allowing students to transfer out of failing schools. The claim is that there is nowhere for students in failing schools to go. The non-failing schools — we’d hesitate to call them successful — are full. And there aren’t enough charter schools to fill the gap. A new group, the Foundation for Educational Reform and Accountability, has been established by Thos. Carroll to challenge the city legally to ensure that parents rights are enforced. However, without some give from the current school bureaucracy on either instituting a voucher program or adding charter schools, no legal challenge will overcome the basic lack of supply of decent education. A first step is for parents to educate themselves as to their rights. To that end, they can download the No Child Left Behind Act desktop manual from the Department of Education Web site at http://www.ed. gov/offices/OESE/reference. pdf. They can also call 877-433-7827 to order a free hard copy of the report.